The Executive Board of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) condemns in the strongest possible terms the attacks targeting airports and civil aviation facilities in Saudi Arabia and across the region.
The Executive Board are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of civilian lives, the injuries sustained by innocent people, and the growing threats against civil aviation workers and infrastructure, including the recent threats declared by the Houthis against airports and aviation infrastructure in the region. These threats are unacceptable.
Even where no attack follows, these threats cause real harm. They put the lives of passengers and aviation workers at risk, undermine the safety of air transport, disrupt vital connections between countries, and deepen the fear and uncertainty experienced by people throughout the region.
The Executive Board’s condemnation applies equally to any party, anywhere, that attacks civilian infrastructure. Airports are civilian facilities, not military targets. They serve millions of people, connect communities and countries, and provide essential services to passengers, workers and the wider public. The people killed and injured in these attacks are civilians: women, men and children, as well as aviation workers who perform essential duties to keep air transport operating safely.
Aviation workers across the region are keeping airports open, assisting passengers and ensuring flights can operate safely in extremely dangerous and uncertain conditions. Their professionalism and courage must be matched by the highest standards of protection. The ITF Executive Board speaks for 16.6 million transport workers worldwide, and our entire global movement stands united with aviation workers and their unions in the region.
Attacks on civilian infrastructure is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Attacks against airports violate the fundamental principles and international legal frameworks established to protect civilians and ensure the safety and security of civil aviation, including the Chicago Convention. Airports, aircraft, aviation workers and passengers must never be targets of military action and must never be placed in the line of fire.
The consequences of this escalating conflict extend far beyond national borders. Workers, families and communities across the region are paying the price through loss of life, injuries, insecurity and disruption to their daily lives and livelihoods. Aviation workers around the world are also carrying the burden of closed airspace, rerouted flights, extended duty times and major operational disruption. Continued escalation will bring further suffering and will not deliver the peace and security that people across the region deserve.
The ITF Executive Board therefore calls on:
- All parties to immediately cease all attacks on, threats against civil aviation infrastructure and aviation workers, and fully respect their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law.
- All parties to end the violence, exercise restraint, de-escalate and return to the negotiating table to secure a political solution through dialogue and diplomacy to end the war.
- Governments in the region and the wider international community to use every diplomatic means at their disposal to protect civil aviation, to ensure that attacks on civilian airports are independently investigated, and to hold those responsible to account.
- The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its member states to act urgently to condemn attacks and threats against civil aviation, uphold the Chicago Convention, and ensure the timely and transparent sharing of conflict-zone risk information so that no flight, crew or passenger is placed in harm’s way.
- Airlines, airport operators, air navigation service providers and governments, as employers and regulators, to put the safety of workers and passengers first.
There can be no lasting security without peace. The people of the region deserve to live without the constant threat of war, and civil aviation workers must be able to carry out their duties without fear of attacks on their workplaces or threats to their lives.
The Executive Board stands in full solidarity with all affected civilians, aviation workers and ITF-affiliated union in the region.
Whatever the conflict and wherever it is, civilian transport workers must be protected. We urge all parties to choose dialogue over violence and peace over further destruction, in the interests of working people across the region and across the world.
Photo credit: Social Media via REUTERS
